Every Mile a Memory
by luvscharlie
Summary: In the aftermath of war, we hold on tightly to what's left. Sometimes memories are all we have. Charlie/Tonks


_Every Mile a Memory_ by Luvscharlie

It was scary, but he had to be tough. After all, big brothers would never let you forget those scaredy cat moments, and his was no different. Charlie took a deep breath and put on his brave face, even though he really wanted to cry a bit. Perhaps he should wait to start Hogwarts after he turned twelve. Dad did work a lot, and Mum might _need_ him… or something. The whistle blew as he trudged toward the train, tugging his trunk behind him. Dad had offered to carry it. No, that would never do. He couldn't have everyone thinking he wasn't tough enough to carry it himself, could he?

He'd been scared enough about starting Hogwarts, and then last night it had only gotten worse. Bill had warned him; if he was sorted into Slytherin, the _Auld Weasley Curse_ would get him. Dad's mum's brother's uncle's great-aunt Bertha had been sorted into Slytherin, and she'd sprouted horns and a tail that no healer had been able to cure. Charlie wouldn't look good with horns and a tail. He just knew it. Sure, you might be able to cover a set of small horns if you grew your hair out long enough (besides a set of horns might be wicked cool). But, he did not fancy the notion of cutting a hole in all of his pants to accommodate a newly sprouted tail. Mum said it was rubbish, but Charlie wasn't certain he wanted to test that theory. He rubbed his behind anxiously.

The whistle blew again as he struggled onboard with his trunk. Finding an empty compartment toward the back of the train, he leaned out the window to wave to his family. He saw a pink blur, followed by a burly man toting a trunk, come flying across the platform at an all out run.

"Wait! Wait! Don't leave. Hurry, Da!"

The train started to pull away from King's Cross Station and the door to his compartment flew open to accommodate a rather thin girl with hair bright pink in colour.

"The other compartments are all full." She didn't ask if he minded, just flopped down on the bench opposite him as she popped some gum into her mouth, smacking her lips loudly together. "So, what's your name, mate?"

They had been inseparable after that.

* * *

Having Nymphadora Tonks (Don't call her that; she hates it, and she won't hesitate to kick you right in the bollocks if you do. Trust Charlie on that; he knows.) as a best friend did many things. For the most part, it caused him a great deal of humiliation, and a good many hours in detention. She would, no doubt, say it was not her fault, but…

_In Care of Magical Creatures Class…_

"Charlie, wait until you see what I have in store for old Kettleburn today."

Detention… for them both. He always got sucked into it when she did something naughty.

_In Flying Class…_

"Charlie," she whispered out of the corner of her mouth. "Keep an eye on Robin Alexander's broom."

Up the boy had gone, broom spinning wildly out of control, and down he had come with a sickening thump. Of course, she hadn't meant to hurt him, but…

Detention.

_In Potions Class…_

Professor Snape's exploding cauldron, followed by the swelling of his nose had been amusing. It had been even more amusing when Tonks morphed into his mirror image and began to imitate everything he did. Charlie had laughed uproariously, so naturally Snape had assumed he was in on it…

Detention. This one had included cleaning every cauldron in the castle without the use of magic. He hadn't spoken to her for a week after that.

_During a game of truth or dare…_

"Whatever were you thinking, Nymphadora?" shouted Professor Sprout. "One does not just go running topless down the corridors."

This "one" did. It was a game of truth or dare, and you didn't pick 'dare' and then not follow through. She'd kicked him hard when they were once again alone.

"You dolt! I know you did that on purpose. You knew Bill had prefect rounds tonight. I ran smack into him, you know. A wonder I didn't put his eyes out," she said, pushing her perky tits out proudly. Charlie had to admit she had fabulous tits.

Professors didn't look kindly on a half-naked girl running down the corridors, but he'd wager Bill had quite a wank that night. Charlie wouldn't know. He had been in detention, unable to keep his eyes from settling on Tonks' tits. They were a fine pair. _Lucky Bill!_

_In the Quidditch changing rooms…_

Gryffindor had won. Not that Hufflepuff had been much competition, mind you. He'd captured that snitch before either side had scored the first goal.

His team members had already cleared out of the changing rooms. There wasn't much need of a shower when no one had had a chance to get sweaty. But, Charlie lingered behind, enjoying his time beneath the hot spray. Not hearing the door open, he jumped in surprise when he felt her slide in beside him.

Tonks' hands slid up his back. "You're a right show off, you know that?"

"It's not showing off when you're as good as I am."

"Really? What is it then?" Her finger traced the spot where his cheek dimpled.

"A raw display of pure talent, of course."

"Bit full of yourself, aren't you, Weasley?"

Not bothering to answer, Charlie kissed her, pressing her back against the tile of the shower wall, wetting her hair beneath the spray. His hands spanned her waist, and he groaned as she kissed him back with equal fervor.

They were still a bit new at this, the slow progression from friendship to attraction, culminating in passionate kisses and fumbling fingers and several trips to the top of the astronomy tower where they had consummated their relationship. His finger beneath her chin tilted her face up to him. "Fuck, I want you."

She grinned, turning her eyes—her beautiful eyes—up at him. "Well, I didn't come in here to wash your back, Weasley."

Charlie pulled her closer, wrapping her warm, wet body tightly against him, and kissed her deeply. She grasped his already standing-at-attention cock, and began to stroke him slowly.

"WEASLEY! Weasley, where are you? You said you'd give me some extra practice if the match finished early."

It was Oliver Wood's voice coming from somewhere on the opposite side of the lockers. Charlie pressed a finger to his lips to quiet her and yelled his response. "Not now, Wood."

"But you said—"

"I said not now, Wood!" Tonks' fingers slid up his sides and he almost giggled aloud as he was terribly ticklish. Wood seemed to pause, but there was no sound of retreating steps.

"Is somebody else in here with you?" Wood asked.

Perhaps he answered too quickly, but if they were caught they would be in _serious_ trouble. It would raise his status with his brothers—oh, it definitely would, but high status would matter little when his mother killed him. "Of course not! Now get out!"

"But—"

"OUT!"

"Okay, okay. Don't get your bollocks in a twist, Captain." The sarcastic emphasis on the word 'Captain' was enough to make Charlie want to follow after Wood and whap him with a broomstick.

"He'll think _Captain_ when I'm done with him." Charlie stopped talking when Tonks' fingers gripped his shoulder.

"Forget about him."

"Oi, Charlie." Wood's voice came once more from behind the lockers.

"How can I forget about him if he won't go away?" Charlie muttered.

"I _know_ you're _alone_ and all, but I thought you might like to know McGonagall's on her way down here."

Tonks reacted first. "Oh, fuck!"

Detention… lots and lots and lots of detention. Not to mention legendary status among his brothers, and quite the hexing from his mother.

* * *

The day he left her for Romania, he was sure he heard her heart break.

When he looked out the window of the train to see her crying on the platform, he thought perhaps that sound had been the breaking of his own.

* * *

Years passed, and old flames that had once burned hot and passionate, when left unkindled became mere flickers of firelight.

He hadn't expected to see her at the Order meeting. From the look on her face, she hadn't expected to see him there either. She looked much the same, perhaps a bit older, but more or less as she always had. Her hair was the same vivid pink she had favoured back during their days at school; he still recalled the way it felt when he ran his hands through it. Sighing wistfully, he startled and yelped when Bill kicked him under the table.

"Pay attention, dumb arse," Bill hissed across the table.

He sat up a bit straighter and tried to look interested, but Snape had been nattering on for hours about something. Who could blame him for being distracted when Tonks was wearing a skirt that short and she kept shifting those amazing legs, crossing one over the other, then uncrossing them again? He was human after all… and male… with a cock that was about to split the zip of his trousers if she did that one more time. And well, life on a Romanian Dragon Reserve did not make for ample opportunities to shag much more than your left hand. While he certainly had an affection for his left hand (they were well acquainted after all, and it didn't give him any lip the next morning), he remembered all too well the way it felt to be with Tonks… inside Tonks… and bloody hell, if Bill kicked him one more time, _he_ was going to become acquainted with Charlie's left hand, or at least the knuckled portion of it. Rubbing his shin, Charlie cast a glare in Bill's direction that would have cowered lesser men. "That's it," he hissed. "Bill, my wand—"

Mum interrupted in an ominous whisper of her own. "Both of you, cease this instant, or the two of you will know my wand intimately when this meeting is over."

They stopped.

Tonks met Charlie's eyes and held them, turning up the corner of her mouth in a lingering smile. He knew that look. Good-looking bloke that he was, he'd seen it often enough on the faces of a good many birds… and a fair number of blokes. A 'come fuck me look' was universal.

He had loved her once upon a time… but time and different career choices had forced them to part ways. Romania didn't have much use for Aurors, and rarely did dragons storm the city of London (though it would certainly liven things up in the room; this was worse than Binns lecturing about Giant Wars). Still, they had shared some good times and Charlie wasn't averse to rekindling old flames. He would be in town for a few more days. He thought it might be in poor taste to use the Dark Lord's rising as an excuse to get laid (especially since that Diggory boy had been killed), but he always had been one to see the cauldron half full. An optimistic bloke was Charlie.

She must have felt his eyes boring into her. Tonks' eyelashes fluttered as Dumbledore brought the meeting to an end, and she turned and headed for the stairs. She stumbled against the table, but Charlie's reflexes were quick, catching her before she went down.

"Thanks." She straightened her skirt, not meeting his eyes.

"You're welcome. It's been a while."

Looking up, Tonks smiled sweetly. "That it has."

Charlie shuffled his weight from one foot to the other and shyly asked, "Would you wanna maybe get some coffee with me or something?"

"Something," she answered.

* * *

The room above the Leaky Cauldron was lit with dozens of candles when they stumbled inside drunk from several bottles of Firewhisky and the intoxication of one another's presence.

He'd only just closed the door and Tonks was upon him kissing him and pulling at the buttons on his shirt. Charlie twisted her short spiky hair between his fingers, backing her towards the bed.

"Merlin, I missed you," he gasped, his teeth nipping at her neck, hands running up and down her back and pulling her shirt over her head.

She replied, "I want you," and Charlie pushed her back onto the bed, grinning as he tugged at the mini-skirt that had held his gaze during the Order meeting. Raising her hips to oblige him, she grinned as he pulled it down with her knickers and quickly shed the rest of his clothes.

"Turn around, Charlie. Lemme look at you." She hiccupped and giggled.

"Completely pissed, you are," Charlie said, mid-spin.

"Maybe, but I think that dragon on your back is giving me the eye."

"He has good taste in birds. Of course, he's giving you the eye." Charlie turned to her and winked. "Are you done looking me over then?" He didn't wait for an answer, nearly pouncing on her in his excitement. He kissed her, taking his time to taste her, exploring her mouth at leisure as his hands kneaded her breasts.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and arched into his touch. Her hands gripped his shoulders and she begged him for more. "I don't want to wait, Charlie. I want you now."

"Not yet." He was determined to draw this out. It had been a long time since he'd had her in his bed and he had no intention of rushing things. He kissed his way down her body, paying extra attention to the sensitive insides of her thighs. She wiggled and squirmed beneath his mouth as his stubble brushed across her skin.

"No fair, tickling, Weasley!"

He loved it when she giggled. He pressed her thighs open and licked her, tonguing his way between her folds. "Mmmm, you taste good." As he watched, her hair changed from dark pink to lime green, and he pressed his nose into the green curls at the apex of her thighs. Watching her lose control as he tongued her was just as fascinating now as it had been back in their days at Hogwarts. As his tongue wreaked havoc on her body, she lost control of her ability to morph and it was fascinating to watch the array of colours that her hair and eyes changed to.

The pad of his thumb pressed against the nub of her clit, and she arched her back off the bed, sinking her hands into his short, ginger hair.

"Merlin, yes. Right there, Charlie. Just like that."

She whimpered as he sucked her clit between his lips, applying a gentle pressure that made her writhe beneath his ministrations. She came hard, fingernails digging sharply into his shoulders and whimpering his name.

Pulling back, Charlie licked his lips tasting the sweet, salty taste of her. "Get on your knees," he said in a tone that brooked no argument. She didn't offer any, scurrying to kneel on the edge of the bed.

Charlie grasped her hips and leaned forward licking his way down her spine and nipping at her skin. He positioned his cock at her entrance and she wiggled her hips to urge him on. He needed little encouragement. His cock was throbbing with need for her. He drove into her hard and fast, reaching a hand around to squeeze and tease her clit as she met his every thrust.

"Godric, you're tight," he said, bringing his hand down across her behind with a sharp smack.

She turned her head to look back at him, pursing her lips into a sexy pout that spurred him on. She mouthed the words, "Fuck me," and Charlie felt his balls tighten. He wanted this to last, but his control was slipping. His fingers worked her clit furiously, bringing her to climax seconds before he spilled into her.

His breathing was still laboured when he collapsed onto the bed and felt her curl up beside him, her lips pressing kisses against his chest as her hands moved freely up and down his torso.

"Tell me you'll stay tonight," she whispered.

He pulled her tight against him. "A herd of hippogriffs couldn't move me from this bed."

But the few days he was in town passed quickly, and he was once more on his way to Romania and leaving her… again.

* * *

Charlie tried not to think of the day Bill's owl arrived, telling him she'd married the werewolf. He'd waited too long; Tonks was lost to him.

He'd done a good bit of kicking things that day… and cursing… and then kicking himself for being an idiot.

* * *

Charlie arrived at the Battle of Hogwarts just in time to see the green light from Bellatrix's wand take her down. She fell atop Remus' already lifeless body. Charlie relived it over and over. No matter how much he wanted to forget, it was impossible. He simply couldn't turn away.

"Charlie, don't do this to yourself. Every day, you're here watching what happened again and again. You can't change it, mate. No matter how much I know you want the outcome to be different. It's time to come back." Bill's hand touched Charlie's shoulder drawing him back up through the pensieve. Charlie tried hard to brush back the tears, but this time they refused to be quelled.

He slammed his fist into the nearest wall. "Why shouldn't I do this to myself, Bill? I failed her. I didn't get there in time. I never put her first, and now Tonks is lying in a bed in St. Mungo's, so far lost I don't even think she hears me, while her mother raises her baby. She's been there four months, Bill, with no signs of life other than the fact she's still breathing. Those memories," he said, gesturing at the swirling silver in the pensieve, "are all I have left. So tell me, why shouldn't beat myself up?"

Bill cocked his head, the scars on his face another reminder of the war that had taken so much from them all. "Because, Charlie, she's awake and asking for you."

His knees hit the floor and he broke, relieved sobs wracking his shoulders and tearing their way from his throat.

"Pull yourself together, man," Bill whispered. "You've got another chance."

* * *

We look back at good times and bad; from those moments we cherish to those times of deepest despair, because sometimes they're all we have left… then, for those lucky few, there are second chances. Charlie had no intention of letting this one slip through his fingers.

Fin.

_A/N: Originally written as a pinch hit for the 2009 Wizard's Love Exchange at Live Journal_


End file.
